WELCOME TO DRNM

Disability Rights New Mexico - DRNM - is a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to protect, promote and expand the rights of persons with disabilities. We are the designated protection and advocacy program for New Mexico, and as such we have authority under federal law to pursue legal, administrative and other remedies on behalf of persons with disabilities.

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The Latest News

The New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, Inc. with funding from the New Mexico Department of Health Office of Injury Prevention will host a 2-day primary prevention training. Talking about Sexuality and Sexual Abuse of Individuals with Disabilities Training will be held in Farmington, New Mexico on January 22-23, 2019. Please see attached save-the-date flyer for details. Online registration will be open in early December. Announcements will be made via email. Thank you!

Foster Youth File Lawsuit to Address Harm Inflicted by New Mexico's Broken Foster Care System.Plaintiffs seek creation of a child welfare welfare system that ensures access to critical services and expertise capable of accommodating children coping with complex trauma.

Today 13 children who are in the foster care system filed Kevin S. v. Jacobson in federal district court in New Mexico. They are joined by protection and advocacy organizations Disability Rights New Mexico and Native American Disability Law Center. The plaintiffs are asking the State of New Mexico to fulfill its legal obligation to provide the state's 4,700 foster children with the essential care and stability that they need to grow and thrive. To read more on this, please click here.

In litigation filed recently in state district court in Santa Fe, Disability Rights New Mexico (DRNM) is seeking a court order requiring the Department of Health (DoH) to license boarding homes, which often serve persons with mental illness or other disabilities but are currently unregulated. For decades, the state of New Mexico had licensing regulations and requirements in place for boarding homes, but several years ago DoH unilaterally scrapped them. DRNM has obtained a temporary order and will seek to make the order permanent, in which case DoH would have to promptly establish and implement licensure requirements. DRNM on-site visits, our death investigation a few years ago, numerous complaints we have received from residents and guardians, and a series of reports published in the Albuquerque Journal have all raised serious concerns about the conditions in many of these homes.